A few noisy sports shots

A few from high school wrestling and girls basketball from this week. getting the low light high ISO settings about where I like it.

In a couple, the Center of Focus (COF) seems off ... but, coupled with WIDE APERTURE ... the shallow DOF is killing these. You need to be at f/4 or better for a cleaner shot, otherwise, back up! LOL The second shot, the center of focus seems to be between the guys legs, on the big red stripe behind him.

I know I know, I'm still working on getting the light and the white balance squared up, along with trying to 'frame' decent shots. here's some basketball shota from a different perspective, I sat all the way up against the back wall and shot down, still f/2.8 though:

Always seeking, and needing advice and direction! Don for wrestling I can stand about 20 - 25 feet from the center of the mat, of course I can also move farther away, and go up and shot down. I was thinking for next home meet of trying the Tamron 17-50mm instead of the 70-200, any thoughts on that? Close the Aperture to 3.5 or 4 also?

I think you did good. Gym lightning is hard to control.

Frank

Obviously, the farther you are away at the wider apertures, the better. Then the subject "group" is more in focus. It is a hell of a game we play to claim all the light we can.

I was discussing these very lighting issues with the lady ... and pointing out some of the challenges we face using lenses limited to f/2.8 ... having a mere 1/16th of the available light from the front of the lens' first element finally to the sensor. I am amazed we can do anything at all with such levels.

I shot an aperture demo in another thread ... showing how the light and DOF changes as we close down from f/1.4 to f/8. It reminded me of how important noise controol is with ISO-1600 and 3200, to be able to get a decent shutter speed for action shots. With sports, things change fast. Usually a lot faster than we can alter out camera settings. You may be able to flop back and forth between 1/125 and 1/500 ... but, the last thing you want to be worrying about is aperture. Lock at f/2.8 and pray everyone plays tight. LOL

Gym lighting is the devil...

you did well

Also, you can reduce the color noise appearance and shoot higher-ISO by using B&W in your shots. Just a thought from the peanut-gallery. :D

Here's a quick sample of the difference:

ISO-6400 AdobeRGB
Attachment 42847

ISO-6400 B&W
Attachment 42848

Shot with a single 60W fluorescent bulb as the source. Handheld
50mm - f/4 - 1/60 - ISO 6400 - DR+ Lvl 5 - WB="Incandescent -3"

I used a tighter aperture to try and demonstrate an improved DOF. Obviously a 2D object like this really cannot depict that, it is clear ... and 1/60th is ... almost slow. Let's face it, ISO-6400 is pretty harsh ... so no miracles, there.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DonSchap

In a couple, the Center of Focus (COF) seems off ... but, coupled with WIDE APERTURE ... the shallow DOF is killing these. You need to be at f/4 or better for a cleaner shot, otherwise, back up! LOL The second shot, the center of focus seems to be between the guys legs, on the big red stripe behind him.

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Don, you may not have been clear enough with this explanation, although I could be maligning Sean.

DOF is determined by the subject distance, the lens focal length, and the lens f-number (relative aperture). Except at close-up distances, DOF is approximately determined by the subject magnification and the lens f-number. Decreasing subject magnification increases DOF. So by stepping back you increase DOF, but you will defeat the object if you then zoom in to keep the subject larger in the frame.

I'm being pedantic, I know, and I'm sorry if I'm underestimating individual expertise. I just thought we should be clear.

I know I've said this before, but sometimes the only way to get a good shot is to stop down to say f5.6, use a support (monopod, beanie bag ...), prefocus on an area (centre circle, basket semicircle..don't know what you call it) and wait for the action to come to you. This may introduce motion blur but that can be acceptable in sports photography.

I think I will try wrestling with the Tamron 17-50, back the ISO down from 3200, see what f/4 looks like. Once the wrestlers hook up the movement isn't that fast for most of the match, may try 200 shutter speed, comments?
Will do basketball Monday night, I think my shots from up in the back shooting down look better to me, will shoot from there and adjust the settings a bit, work with the aperture some.
Hey if it was easy we wouldn't have any challenges, or have to share ideas and suggestions, what fun would any of this be then!